An IACS comprises usually a set of communicating IEDs, each may have its special purpose, which can be defined in the basic software or firmware on the IEDs, related to the IED type, and system/project specific configuration data. This IED specific configuration data needs to be engineered and then loaded onto the IED before it can be activated in the system. Inside the system it should be ensured that each IED has a unique identity for its tasks in the system, and unique configuration data allowing to fulfill its task. Thus, no two IEDs with the same identity and configuration data should exist, in particular, in a same Substation System. Nowadays most of the IEDs are standard compliant and can be described using following terms:
Global Identification, GID: a world-wide unique identification of an IED as unique string value or as a unique communication address. This can be a manufacturer serial number as well as e.g. in Ethernet based communication systems the Ethernet MAC address, and identifies uniquely a piece of hardware, e.g. the IED. This IED taken together with the manufacturer name or the communication protocol identification is typically ‘world-wide’ unique, similar as the World Wide Name, WWN, in the storage technology.
IED type: the type of an IED defines basic functionality and capabilities of the IED as well as the ways and the protocols how it can be configured etc. The type together with the manufacturer identification uniquely defines this set of capabilities. If an IED shall be replaced and loaded with the predefined configuration data, the new IED should have the same IED type. In detail this may be a type identification string, possibly together with a version number.
System identification, SID: the identification of the place and/or role of an IED inside a system. Each IED inside the system has a system wide unique identification, and tied to it are one or more communication level identifications. The configuration data engineered for an IED in the system depends mainly on its role in the system. The SID is often an IED name, coupled with at least one communication level address allowing loading the IED with its role specific configuration data.
Configuration application, CA: an application holding the configuration data for all or some IEDs of the system. The configuration data is tied to the SID, and via the IED type the CA ‘knows’ how to principally load this data to an IED of the correct type.
In case that an IED fails, it might need to be replaced by as IED of the same type, the correct system identity given to it, and the correct configuration data loaded. In many cases human beings manually perform these tasks related to a first system startup as well as to replacement of failed devices, e.g. IEDs or modules of an IED. This needs time and is error prone.
US 2004/083278 describes a network having a plurality of nodes in which node-specific data for parameterizing and/or configuring a first one of the nodes is stored in a second one of the nodes of the network.
US 2013/0275566 describes a method for configuring at least one device in an Ethernet based communication network comprising a plurality of devices with Ethernet capability, wherein the topological position of a respective device to be configured, which is associated with a device type, in the communication network is ascertained, the respective device is sent configuration data, which correspond to its device type and to its ascertained topological position, from a database which contains a plurality of configuration data for at least one device type and a plurality of topological positions of the at least one device type, and the respective device is then configured based on the transmitted configuration data.
US 2005/0163118 describes a method for assigning an IP address to a device, comprising the following steps: connecting the device to a port of a switch, transmitting an identification code of the port from the switch to the device, transmitting the identification code of the port from the device to an address server, assigning the IP address to the device on the basis of the identification code of the port.